


Hamartia

by Kablob, mylordshesacactus



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Barriss Begins To Realize The Vast Extent To Which She Has Fucked Up, Gaslighting, Gen, In Which Sheevery Occurs, Medical Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 15:32:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10811847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kablob/pseuds/Kablob, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylordshesacactus/pseuds/mylordshesacactus
Summary: hä-ˌmär-ˈtē-ə| From the Greekhamartanein,meaning "to miss the mark" or "to err." The tragic flaw or error of judgment which ultimately brings about the hero's downfall.





	Hamartia

  
Luminara Unduli closed her eyes as the elevator closed and began rushing upward.

Taking a few seconds to lean against the wall and rub her temples was the only moment of weakness she allowed herself; and that only because of how desperately needed it was. She hadn’t slept properly in weeks, not since...well. Not in weeks, that was all that needed to be said.

The strain must be getting to her. She sighed; she could feel the beginnings of a headache already. And the strategy consultation with the Chancellor hadn’t even started.

She took a deep, slow breath, and let it out carefully. She was a Jedi Master. She needed to act like it.

By the time the elevator doors hissed open on the Chancellor’s office, Luminara was calm and composed once more; she nodded to the group of assorted sentients just leaving, and bowed politely to Chancellor Palpatine.

Palpatine’s expression brightened as he looked up and spotted her. “Master Unduli!” he greeted her, standing. “It’s been far too long. Please, do come in.”

She forced herself to smile back. “My thanks, Chancellor,” she said quietly.

“Not at all, Master Jedi. Not at all.” His voice was warm. “It brings me great joy to see you safely back on Coruscant. I do hope the Council hasn’t worked you too hard while you were away?” Luminara shook her head and held up a hand to decline the glass of nectar offered her.

“The Order is stretched thin,” she said neutrally. “I only hope to do my part.”

“Naturally,” he agreed. “And, Master Unduli, my sincerest condolences. To serve the Republic so dutifully after such a terrible loss…”

“ _Thank_ you, Chancellor,” she said, a bit more shortly than she intended. She had really hoped he wouldn’t bring the subject up.

“If there is anything at all I can do,” he said kindly, “I hope you won’t hesitate to ask. I understand you wanted to visit her? Or so my reports would indicate.”

Luminara swallowed, trying not to let her agitation about the subject show. “I did make a few inquiries, yes. I was told that her place of imprisonment was classified and under Admiral Tarkin’s jurisdiction.”

Palpatine hummed. “You understand, of course,” he said, in a tone that suggested an unspoken _my dear_ tailing the statement. “Precautions simply must be taken, as the unfortunate misunderstanding with Padawan Tano showed. A Separatist seditionist and a _Jedi…_ ”

It took several moments before Luminara could unclench her sudden vice grip on her datapad. “Of course,” she forced out. “Nevertheless, I am her master.” She couldn’t bring herself to explain further than that; not here. It would be...inappropriate.

“I understand completely.” His voice was entirely too knowing, and it grated against her raw grief. Resentment would be unworthy of a Jedi; she couldn’t fault him for his concern. “Whatever her crimes, it’s only to be expected that you would still want to see her.”

Luminara frowned slightly. She still struggled to believe it. She had seen the holos. Everyone in the _galaxy,_ it seemed, had seen the holos. A month and a half later they still sometimes played in merciless highlight-reel format on Separatist and Coruscant news networks without warning. But it wasn’t—it didn’t seem real. The bitter young woman who had committed such crimes and then used her only chance at apology to denounce the Republic couldn’t be reconciled with the sweet, gentle, soft-spoken girl Luminara Unduli had raised.

She’d gone offworld to oversee a planetary seizure and Barriss had been fine. Quiet, of course, a little melancholy, but stable. And then—she hadn’t seen her since. Her master had warned her, back when she was an apprentice herself, of how quickly the dark side could take hold of you, but it was still near impossible to believe that Barriss could have fallen so quickly.

She realized she had been quiet too long, and cleared her throat. “I had hoped to gain a better understanding of...what might have motivated such an attack, and such cruel methods. At least a Jedi interrogation might…”

Palpatine smiled. “Come, Master Unduli,” he said, folding his hands. “I’m no Jedi. Your concern is perfectly natural.” He grimaced, briefly. “I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be betrayed by someone so close.”

The understanding tone stung like an accusation. “It’s not a matter of my feelings, Chancellor,” Luminara insisted. “I am thinking only of the welfare of the Republic.”

“Of course.” But there was still something about his expression that suggested he was humoring her.

“Chancellor Palpatine,” she reminded him, trying to be firm. “Jedi do not put personal attachments above the welfare of others.”

He blinked, looking faintly surprised. “I would never suggest such a thing, Master Unduli,” he assured her, placing a hand over his heart. “If anything your compassion does you great credit! There’s no shame in caring for Miss Offee. I may not be as familiar with Temple gossip as my good friend Senator Organa, Master Jedi, but it’s common knowledge that you and your apprentice were particularly close.”

Luminara couldn’t contain her flinch at that. “The rumor mill exaggerates,” she said, unconvincing even to herself. “Regardless, that is irrelevant.”

Palpatine inclined his head respectfully. “As you wish, Master Jedi. I can see that discussing this is distressing. Do forgive me, I had no wish to cause you pain.”

Luminara sucked a breath through her teeth. She did nothing but shame herself with such obvious displays of emotion. Of course Barriss’ betrayal was a knife in her heart; but to dwell on it and allow it to make her snappish and disrespectful, distract her from her duties, was unacceptable. “I apologize, Chancellor. If we might begin…”

“Of course,” he said with a reassuring smile. “And, Master Jedi, my influence in these matters is, rightfully, heavily restricted under our laws. However, if you would like me to do what I can to remove some of this terrible red tape and try to arrange a short visit…”

Luminara took a deep breath.

“No, Chancellor,” she said. Her voice, miraculously, didn’t shake. “I appreciate the sentiment, but our focus must be on defending the Republic. Please do not spend time and resources indulging a whim.”

His eyebrows drew together in concern. “Well, if you’re quite certain...but are you sure? It would hardly be any trouble…”

“Please.” That time, she was unable to stop a slight tremor. “With all due respect, Chancellor, if we might move on to the developing situation regarding the CIS Third Fleet movements...”

* * *

Barriss blinked groggily.

This wasn’t where she’d been when she’d fallen asleep. It took a moment for her to be able to see anything due to a harsh overhead light angled directly into her face; she winced and turned aside, squinting at her surroundings.

Her attempt to shield her eyes failed. Her arms wouldn’t respond; there was a cold hard pressure when she tried to move them, biting into her forearms. Wide, bracer-style restraints, she thought vaguely. Much more effective than simple cuffs. The odd angle of the room was confusing to her tired mind; she tried to lift her head to compensate and found another wide metal band around her neck. So, that plan was out as well. And of course her ankles were strapped down as well when she tested them.

Knowing the situation didn’t help it make any more sense, unfortunately.

The last she remembered she had been going to bed in her cell. And now she woke up here, in...she blinked again to clear her swimming vision. A medbay of some description? Sterile durasteel surfaces, gleaming cabinets, a few racks nearby containing vials and medical equipment. She couldn’t hear the telltale hum of a bacta tank, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t one nearby.

The grogginess of sleep was fading unusually slowly considering the circumstances, suggesting she’d been sedated somehow, but…

A medical droid drifted into her line of vision.

 _“Subject is conscious,”_ it reported in a mechanical monotone.

“What’s…” Her mouth was too dry to speak. She cleared her throat and tried again. “What’s happening? Where am I?”

Predictably, the droid ignored her. Fine then, she could at least turn her head to try to get more of an idea.

There was more of the same on her other side, the only difference being a door.

A door that was flanked by a pair of Separatist-model magnaguards wielding electrified staves.

That wasn’t right. The Separatists couldn’t have broken her out of a facility in the heart of the Coruscant military complex, and more to the point why would they have reason to? If she opposed participating in the _Republic’s_ war on moral grounds, surely the Separatists would never be delusional enough to believe she would condone _their_ tactics.

But the Republic never used that model. Perhaps they’d acquired some? Maybe a measure against mindtricks, which would always be a security risk when leaving a Jedi guarded by clones…

The guard droids suddenly braced to attention and turned inward. Barriss tensed as the door slid open to admit—

She blinked.

“...Chancellor Palpatine?”

“Hello, Miss Offee,” he said warmly, as though this was another exchange of pleasantries before one of Master Luminara’s strategy meetings. “I trust you had a pleasant rest?”

Barriss couldn’t stop a sort of nervous laugh—more a short exhalation of breath, really. “What is this?”

Palpatine’s smile was bland. “I only wished to welcome you,” he said, gesturing around the little medbay as if it were a luxury apartment. “I consider it a matter of personal interest that you be well cared for while you are my guest.”

_“Your…?”_

He chose to ignore the question, or perhaps he genuinely hadn’t heard it.

“I’m sure you’ve become rather starved for interaction.” He spread his hands in a sympathetic gesture. “I regret that my duties to the Republic keep me too busy to be able to get away terribly often. I did _offer_ to arrange a meeting for you with Master Unduli, but I’m afraid she refused. She was quite adamant on the point.”

Barriss tried to pretend the words, the ring of harsh truth in them, were preferable to a vibroblade in the gut. She couldn’t even convince herself, struggling to force down the sudden hot lump in her throat. That the Republic would restrict her visitors was a given; that her master would go to no special effort to fight that restriction Barriss had no doubt, but to flatly _refuse_...not even once? Not even a goodbye? The woman who’d raised her since she was a girl...

Palpatine, however, continued as if he had only commented on the weather.

“You’re due congratulations, my dear,” he said mildly. “Your actions have succeeded far beyond your wildest expectations, I’m sure. The Jedi are far too set in their ways to comprehend the message; but the citizens of the Republic have _certainly_ had their eyes opened.”

Seeing Barriss’ bewilderment, Palpatine gave her a friendly, conspiratorial look.

“I don’t believe most of them had ever really _thought_ about the unquestioned extrajudicial power of the Jedi before,” he explained. “And of course you’ve done a wonderful job of drawing attention to the... _lack of wisdom_ inherent in permitting a private order to hold final command over our military? My office has been flooded with requests for inquiries into rumored Jedi war crimes that had never come to light before.”

Barriss didn’t know how to respond to that. It wasn’t... _exactly_ what she had wanted, but she couldn’t deny that if the Jedi refused to listen, public pressure on the Senate might be the next best...but she’d been in strategy meetings with the Chancellor, he had demonstrated full awareness of the military benefits of using Jedi as front-line fighters. It was one of the reasons Barriss despised him.

Her first thought was that his “congratulations” were sarcastic, but there was no edge to them. He seemed genuinely appreciative.

“I…” She trailed off. Palpatine nodded as if she’d said something sensible, and continued in a conversational, almost casual tone.

“And I must say, you executed your plan so well that even _I_ hadn’t suspected you might be behind all of it. Of course I knew Padawan Tano was innocent, that much was obvious, but I never considered _you_ as the culprit until Master Skywalker brought you into the courtroom.“

Barriss stiffened. Was that meant to be a compliment?

“You know where you went wrong, I presume?” He asked it like he was a Temple lecturer. “Why, if you had simply killed Ventress, there would have been no tie to you. Other than Padawan Tano’s account, of course, but I don’t believe I recall…” He tapped a datapad, and his eyebrows raised in mock surprise. “She doesn’t seem to have mentioned you in her court testimony. Even when asked whether anyone else might have known her plans. An oversight, no doubt.”

Barriss’ eyes narrowed.

“Why are you here?” she demanded.

A sly smile crept at the corner of his mouth. “I simply wanted to express my gratitude for how useful you’ve been, my dear.”

The dig about Ahsoka, however deserved, had brought Barriss’ hackles up; but something stopped a snide retort in her throat, a faint whisper of caution in the Force. There was something slightly _off_ about that smile.

“I don’t see how destabilizing the military could be helpful to you, Chancellor,” she said instead.

The smile widened. “You will,” he assured her. “In the meantime, I’m certain you will continue to be useful to me. I’ve hoped for an opportunity like this for decades, after all. I am very glad that I can rely upon your cooperation, Miss Offee.”

“I...don’t understand,” she said honestly. Her heart was starting to pound faster as she craned her neck to try to keep Palpatine in her field of vision. The kindly expression was beginning to slip away, replaced with something...hungry.

“You have succeeded where my best agents have consistently failed me.” The look he fixed on her could no longer truthfully be called a smile. “I had found it nearly impossible until now to acquire a young and healthy fully-trained Jedi, _and_ a convenient excuse to keep it locked away under layers of secrecy and procedure.”

Barriss couldn’t suppress a dry swallow. She had never thought she would be _frightened_ by the Chancellor’s presence. “What are you...where am I?”

“There are so many mysteries of the Force,” Palpatine mused as if he hadn’t heard her. “Sadly, the effects of exploring them so often prove...unpleasant. This makes it very unwise not to begin tests with a disposable subject.”

“What do _you_ know about the Force,” she snapped, failing to keep a tinge of panic out of her tone.

He chuckled, low and sinister, and then bent slightly closer to her.

_“More than you.”_

Every piece of Jedi training vanished in a wash of cold terror, replaced by a raw animal instinct to survive. Barriss didn’t move. Didn’t dare breathe. She couldn’t have said why or what she was afraid of; all she knew was that she had been wrong, so wrong, about the war and the threat of the Dark Side, and that the Supreme Chancellor was the most dangerous person she had ever known.

There was no hint of a corrupt but largely harmless figurehead now. The Force was dark and alien around her, and the only tiny thread of presence she was familiar with could only urge her to be _anywhere_ but here. She jerked against the bindings because she couldn’t stand not _trying_ to escape. It only made Palpatine laugh again.

“If I recall,” he said in a lilting mockery of his usual act, “Padawan Barriss Offee was a naturally gifted healer.”

 _No,_ Barriss thought desperately. _No, please._ Absolutely nothing good could come of that statement.

Palpatine gestured vaguely to one of the medical droids before sparing Barriss a smile that made her feel like she’d been licked bodily by a Hutt. “You should make quite a... _durable_ subject of study. I look forward to discovering the extent of your ability.”

 _“Test protocol 1A,”_ the medical droid reported dispassionately. Barriss couldn’t quite see the implement it held in its manipulators; but she saw the way the light flashed off a series of serrated blades. The droid activated the device with a whir that Barriss could feel in her teeth as she tried and failed not to hyperventilate.

“I may come check up on you in person again,” Palpatine said from the threshold. “However, by that time it’s unlikely you’ll be particularly...responsive. So I’m afraid that this is goodbye, Miss Offee. I’ll be sure to pass on your compliments to your Master.”

At that sickly sweet reminder Barriss’ heart nearly stopped. She couldn’t—she had to—she’d been so afraid for her own life she hadn’t made the connection, had forgotten how many hours Luminara spent _alone_ with this person, with no idea what he was or the danger she was in—

 _“No,”_ she managed to choke before the blades came down.

It was the last coherent thought she would have for...a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Working doc title: "Palpatine Gaslights, Just, Everyone"


End file.
